The WSBeat: Back from the ‘dead’; 2 am ‘test drive’; more

As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block (whenever)?”:

*Medics declared a North Admiral resident dead after finding him in his apartment face down, without pulse. Per routine procedure, an officer was dispatched to survey the scene. Finding no signs of foul play, he lifted the victim’s arm and heard a sudden expulsion of air from the man’s mouth. The officer alerted the medics, who reiterated that not only had there been no pulse, but that rigor mortis had started to set in. But to placate the officer, they lifted the victim onto a nearby bed. As the cloth covering the “deceased’s” face slipped off, everyone was startled to see his eyes blinking rapidly. Medics quickly provided life-saving treatment and transported the man to the Harborview emergency room.

*Early Tuesday, officers pulled over a van in the 3200 block of Harbor Ave. SW. It had originally been spotted on Murray Ave. SW, and the occupants were thought to be casing the area. The driver, a Port Orchard resident, claimed he was in the middle of a pre-purchase 2 a.m. scenic test drive along Beach Drive. He refused to let officers search the vehicle, which was lined with racks and shelves and bags of items. A records check showed the driver was a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history (burglary, auto theft, theft, vehicle prowling and property damage) and that two women had active anti-harassment orders against him. He has been known to assault officers and to own illegal weapons, handguns, rifles, knives and grenades. He also had a history of substance abuse. His female passenger (who waved and called one of the officers by name) is also a convicted felon with a similar criminal history. There was a large knife at her feet. She had two warrants, one for misdemeanor assault in Burien ($7,500) and failure to appear on a theft charge ($5,050). Thinking that the van contained stolen property, the officers decided to impound it. The driver was released and walked away southbound on Harbor Ave. The woman was driven to Tukwila and transferred to the custody of the King County Sheriff’s Office.

10 more summaries ahead:

*Monday afternoon at 59th and Stevens, a driver hit a parked vehicle, careened off it and smacked into a nearby patrol car. He was arrested for investigation of hit and run and driving without a license, no insurance and inattention to driving. A records check showed that one of his passengers had a felony warrant for theft ($2,500). Another passenger had two misdemeanor warrants from Tukwila ($2,200) Both were booked into jail as well.

*Sunday morning around 6:30, a citizen called 911 to report a suspicious man loitering and “staring” in the 3200 block of Walnut Ave. SW. Officers found him with a switchblade at his side. It turns out that he lived down the street and and had spent the night in the parking strip after a fight with his parents. He allowed officers to look in his bag, where they found cocaine, marijuana, miscellaneous pills, syringes, needles, cooking tins, scale, cotton, foil, straws and small baggies, typically used in the sales of narcotics. He had stomach pain and was taken to Harborview but will be investigated at a later time.

*An Admiral business is out some dollars: A customer came in on Monday afternoon and selected an $80 item. While the clerk was busy with other customers, the man left the store with his item — and $140 from the cash register. The thief is described as Caucasian, aged 18-21 years, with black hair, unshaven stubble, and a heavy beard. His palms had visible injuries/scrapes from a fall.

*A compact white hatchback car — Honda or similar — that has been lowered and that has a very loud muffler. That was the description of the getaway car used by a thief who stole a box of red “Paula Deen” cooking pans just after they had been delivered to an Arbor Heights address on Thursday afternoon.

*Around 4:30 Monday of last week, officers were dispatched to a Metro coach near California and Admiral to deal with a disruptive passenger who was arguing, shouting, and spitting. The combative fellow agreed to get off the bus, but warned the officers (and some medics who arrived to treat his injured ankle) to look out for the mountain lions in the trees above them. The 50-year-old was transported to Highline Hospital for a mental evaluation.

*Around 2:30 Monday afternoon, officers pulled a car over near 26th SW and SW Adams and wound up arresting a 19-year-old South Seattle woman on a $5,000 warrant (failure to appear in a domestic violence case) as well as the driver, a 31-year-old South Seattle resident. Not only was he driving without a license, but he was wanted on $12,000 worth of warrants (obstruction, false reporting, and animal violations). Four other passengers were released with a friendly reminder to always wear their seat belts: The arrested woman sitting — obviously unbelted — on a lap in the backseat is what got the car pulled over in the first place.

*Officers investigating a child-abuse case found cause to take a 5-year-old girl (the victim) and her 7-year-old brother into protective custody at their grandmother’s home while Child Protective Services investigates the latest incident with their mother. The officer asked the little girl if she liked staying with her grandmother. The little girl said, “yes,” and when asked why she responded, “Because my grandma doesn’t beat me.”

*On Tuesday afternoon, in the 1100 block of Alki Ave. SW, two teens — aged 16 and 19 — were too busy swigging cognac to notice officers approaching their vehicle. The 16-year-old was supposed to be under home monitoring while awaiting trial for a previous offense, and he was booked into the Youth Service Center. The older teen was released.

*In the 2900 block of Avalon early Friday morning, an officer found a would-be car burglar passed out, with his head on the driver’s seat. The officer pulled him out by his backpack, and he fell backward onto the ground, his mouth letting loose with both a “grunt” and an overwhelming aroma of alcohol. His backpack was full of burglary tools and a drug pipe. The 18-year-old West Seattle resident was booked into King County Jail.

*In The Junction, a yelling and swearing man was arrested — not for smashing a brick onto a parked car (the owner accepted his apology and his cash) — but for being wanted on a $5,000 theft warrant.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: WSBeat roundups are archived here. We also continue to publish crime reports the rest of the week, when we get tips or hear noteworthy incidents via the scanner, so don’t be shy about letting us know when you see/hear something happening = calling or texting 206-293-6302 is the best way.

Followups, sadly, are almost impossible in cases that aren’t crime/court/jail type situations … – health privacy rules are iron-clad, and the public information stops with the transport. We’ve been trying to follow up on the “released against advice” lady from LAST WSBeat, and that’s been tough, though we hear she’s been checked on … TR

Also please keep in mind before bashing on the medics too much, this is how the police report reads, and doesn’t include the Fire Dept.’s side of the story. That’s why we always have the prologue that these are reports from the Southwest Precinct, meant not necessarily to provide the full 360 of everything mentioned, but to give you a bit of an idea of what police are dealing with besides the kind of things we routinely report on as they happen (car crashes, robberies, assault-with-weapon cases), etc. After years and years of listening to the scanner – which of course is also just one small part of the picture – I can totally imagine how once in a while someone thought to be dead might turn out not to be … TR

I wonder if that van is the same one that has been parked on Alki/Harbor avenues for the past month? Someone appears to be living in it. There are also 3-4 motorhomes parked on Harbor ave. with people living in them. I have reported the motorhomes to SPD for 72 hour parking violations, but the reports have been ignored.

OK, super morbid, but premature burial has always been a problem. Believe it or not, in Victorian times they actually had what are called “Safety coffins,” which allowed people to ring a bell if they were accidentally buried alive: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_coffin Of course, embalming fluids these days obviate the need for a safety coffin . . .

“He refused to let officers search the vehicle, which was lined with racks and shelves and bags of items. A records check showed the driver was a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history (burglary, auto theft, theft, vehicle prowling and property damage) and that two women had active anti-harassment orders against him. He has been known to assault officers and to own illegal weapons, handguns, rifles, knives and grenades. He also had a history of substance abuse.”
Then he was released? I don’t get this…couldn’t he be held for 24 hours?…there was a knife in the car that could have been his. I just don’t understand.

I haven’t seen the reports themselves but can say in general that you can’t be held just because you’ve done bad things in the past and might have done something bad now. There has to be probable cause/evidence of some sort. Theoretically charges could be filed later, if the impounded car yielded evidence that the guy had committed a crime. – TR

@marty, if you were homeless sleeping in a motor home, wouldnt you atleast enjoy a nice view, and its pretty crude to just assume that they are dumping their sewage in the bushes… Have you personally seen this happen? Some people are just down on their luck, it doesnt mean they should be chastised for not living up to your social standards.

I think I know that white honda civic with the loud pipes. It parks by our condo almost every night and the driver and passengers smoke weed. I’m going to call the plate in to the precinct.
Of course there are probably a lot of loud white hondas in Seattle. But I’ve only seen the one in West Seattle.

Some of those Harbor Ave motor homes have been along that stretch of Harbor Ave for years. They’ll move back and forth a few feet when they’re reported for the 72 hour violation but they’re there day in and day out. The people seem harmless enough. I walk that stretch regularly and see one couple with their dog often. I think another motor home is occupied by an older gentleman and his dog.

Growing up in WS in the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, I remember no one locked their doors, kids played outside all day during the summer, the neighborhood kids were the kids you walked to the local schools with, the first bus ride to downtown w/friends was at age 12 with no qualms –those days are truly gone. I am glad WS has the SW Precinct.

What about the ( excuse my language) douchbag that was on his mega-ohone yelling sexual comments to women and childern passing by. It happend last Sat on alki. the sun comes out and then boys like that, feel the need to sexually harass innocent pedestrains. I hope the several police cars that went by did something

(Sound Transit file photo, Capitol Hill) By Tracy Record West Seattle Blog editor The in-person open houses are over. The online open house continues. You have less than two weeks to get your opinion(s) into the wide-open